Logging Concessions Research Articles

Impacts of selective logging on spatial structure of tree species composition in Bornean tropical rain forests

ABSTRACT We studied the impacts of selective logging on the spatial structure of tree species composition in the tropical rain forest of Sabah, Malaysia. We established 50 20-m radius plots (0.12 ha in area) across primary to highly degraded forests in each of two logging concessions with distances in between any two plots ranging from 0.2 to 40 km. In addition, we established one 100 × 200-m plot in each of primary, reduced-impact logged, and conventionally logged forest in other two logging concessions, and each plot was divided into 40 × 30-m quadrats (0.12 ha in area) for the further analysis of the spatial structure at the scale of less than 200 m. A decline of species-compositional similarity with increasing in-between distance was found in primary and moderately logged forest at both larger and smaller than 0.2-km scale. Such a spatial structure could not be detected in heavily logged forests at both scales. The heavily logged forests were rather characterized by mosaics of remnant stands and regenerating patches of pioneer species, leading to a high spatial variance of species composition without the distance-dependent spatial structure. Accordingly, high-impact conventional logging damages the distance-dependent spatial structure of species composition in canopy tree communities by creating random vegetation patches, while reduced-impact logging can maintain the spatial structure.

Causes and history of forest loss in Cambodia

To reconstruct the history of forest loss in Cambodia, the literature and national/provincial statistics of landuse patterns and the socio-economic situation were investigated. Forest cover in the 1960s was 73.3 % (13.3 Mha). However, this drastically decreased to 47.3% (8.6 Mha) in 2016. In the 1960s, the forest was less-disturbed. From 1970 to 1993, the forest was lost gradually owing to the political instability caused by the Cambodian Civil War. In the post-war reconstruction period from 1993 to around 2002, the need for reconstruction, international demand for timber, and forest logging concessions led to a significant increase in timber production. In the rapid economic growth period from 2002 until present, while several political actions were taken to combat rapid deforestation, economic land concessions, which promoted agroindustrial plantations, as well as small-scale agriculture has been leading to the rapid expansion of arable land and deforestation since 2009.

Dispositifs permanents de nouvelle génération pour le suivi de la dynamique forestière en Afrique centrale : bilan en République du Congo

Gérer durablement les forêts tropicales de production nécessite de connaître leur diversité, leur dynamique et l’impact de l’exploitation sur ces caractéristiques. Cette connaissance peut s’obtenir avec de grands dispositifs de suivi permanents dont les arbres sont régulièrement mesurés. Un seul dispositif de ce type existe en Afrique centrale, M’Baïki, installé en 1982 en République centrafricaine. Il a fait référence pour établir les règles d’aménagement d’un grand nombre de concessions forestières de la région. Plusieurs projets ont permis l’installation de nouveaux dispositifs, en privilégiant des zones situées sur des substrats géologiques différents. Deux dispositifs ont ainsi été installés dans des concessions forestières aménagées au nord de la République du Congo, sur alluvions de l’ère cénozoïque (Loundoungou) et sur grès de Carnot de l’ère mésozoïque (Mokabi). Chaque dispositif est constitué de deux blocs de 400 ha, contenant chacun un sentier d’environ 4 000 arbres d’une vingtaine d’espèces commerciales et deux parcelles de 9 ha suivies en plein. Tous les arbres supérieurs à 10 cm de diamètre sont mesurés. Un bloc sera exploité après quelques années de suivi, l’autre restera en témoin. L’installation et le premier inventaire d’un dispositif ont nécessité en moyenne 34 mois de travail avec une équipe de huit personnes pour un coût total moyen de 94500 €. Les peuplements des deux dispositifs, Loundoungou et Mokabi respectivement, ont les caractéristiques suivantes : 240 et 230 espèces d’arbres, densité de 346,8 (± 5,8) et 426,8 (± 3,6) arbres par hectare, biomasse de 432,6 (± 13,8) et 457,3 (± 9,3) Mg/ha. Les difficultés rencontrées lors de l’installation des dispositifs (emplacement, localisation des parcelles, constitution des sentiers, application du protocole d’inventaire, logistique...) sont analysées. Plusieurs recommandations sont émises pour améliorer l’installation de tels dispositifs et leur protocole d’inventaire.

Dynamique de la déforestation dans la Réserve de biosphère de Yangambi (République démocratique du Congo) : variabilité spatiale et temporelle au cours des 30 dernières années

D’une superficie de 225 000 ha, la Réserve de biosphère de Yangambi (République démocratique du Congo) est l’une des principales aires protégées menacées par l’anthropisation dans la région. Malgré son appartenance au réseau mondial des réserves de biosphère depuis les années 1970, les connaissances sur les dynamiques d’occupation du sol y sont encore lacunaires. Une démarche fondée sur l’analyse d’images (Landsat TM, ETM+ et OLI) et la réalité du terrain a été mise en œuvre pour étudier la dynamique d’occupation des sols de la réserve entre 1986 et 2016. Le taux annuel de déforestation est passé de 0,18 % au cours de la période 1986-2003 à 0,38 % en 2003-2016. Durant cette dernière période, la forêt primaire a connu un taux de déforestation plus élevé qu’en forêt secondaire (respectivement 4,5 % et 0,4 %). Quatre zones aux dynamiques socio-environnementales spécifiques ont été identifiées, nécessitant des approches de gestion différentes. Il s’agit notamment de la concession de l’INERA, des zones proches d’axes principaux de circulation, des zones situées sur des axes routiers plus ou moins abandonnés et des zones isolées du cœur de la réserve. Les principales causes de déforestation mentionnées par les habitants sont l’agriculture itinérante sur brûlis (54 % des ménages), l’exploitation artisanale des minerais (17 %) et la fabrication des pirogues (8 %). La pression démographique, sans amélioration du niveau de vie des communautés ou des techniques agricoles, et le développement du réseau routier, favorisant les échanges commerciaux, en sont les causes sous-jacentes. Cette dynamique de déforestation dans une forêt rattachée au réseau mondial des réserves de biosphère entame l’objectif fixé par l’État d’étendre le réseau d’aires protégées à 15 % du territoire national.

Road expansion and persistence in forests of the Congo Basin

Roads facilitate development in remote forest regions, often with detrimental consequences for ecosystems. In the Congo Basin, unpaved logging roads used by timber firms, as well as paved and unpaved public roads, have expanded greatly. Comparing old (before 2003) and new (2003–2018) road datasets derived from Landsat imagery, we show that the total length of road networks inside logging concessions in Central Africa has doubled since 2003, whereas the total length of roads outside concessions has increased by 40%. We estimate that 44% of roads in logging concessions were abandoned by 2018, as compared to just 12% of roads outside concessions. Annual deforestation rates between 2000 and 2017 near (within 1 km) roads increased markedly and were highest for old roads, lowest for abandoned roads and generally higher outside logging concessions. The impact of logging on deforestation is partially ameliorated by the nearly fourfold higher rate of road abandonment inside concessions, but the overall expansion of logging roads in the Congo Basin is of broad concern for forest ecosystems, carbon storage and wildlife vulnerable to hunting. Road decommissioning after logging could play a crucial role in reducing the negative impacts of timber extraction on forest ecosystems. Road length has almost doubled in 2003–2018 within the Congo Basin forests. Deforestation within 1 km of roads has increased greatly. Almost half of the roads within logging concessions were subsequently abandoned, but most roads outside concessions endured.

The global scar on Congo forests

It has long been observed that roads clear the way to deforestation in the tropics. Viewing deforestation scars in the Congo Basin from space, we can now model the impact roads have both inside and outside logging concessions.

Perceptions of ecosystem services provided by tropical forests to local populations in Cameroon

In Central Africa, local populations are deeply dependent on tropical forests, which provide numerous ecosystem services (ES). For the first time in Central Africa, we assessed the perceptions of ES provided by tropical forests to local populations, considering three land allocation types: a protected area, a Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)-certified logging concession, and three community forests. We conducted a questionnaire survey with 225 forest stakeholders in southeastern Cameroon, combining an open-ended question and 16 directed questions to evaluate the perceptions of ES significance and abundance, respectively. The ES most frequently reported as significant were provisioning (93% of respondents) and cultural & amenity services (68%), whereas regulating services were less mentioned (16%). Bushmeat provision was the only ES perceived as highly significant but not very abundant. There were slight variations of perceptions among forest land allocation types and respondents, suggesting a relative homogeneity in ES abundance. For further integrative ES assessment, we suggest quantifying ES with complementary ecological and economic approaches, such as meat provision, recreation, tourism, timber provision, spiritual experience, firewood provision, water quality regulation, and inspiration for culture. We also give three concrete recommendations for forest management, the most urgent being to provide sources of protein alternative to bushmeat.

Stakeholder’s movement on forest resource management: a study in Merangin, Jambi Province

This study investigates three critical issues related to forest resource management in Merangin District, Jambi Province. First, it emphasizes how forest land conversion from coffee plantations, palm oil, and mining resulted in deforestation. Second, it highlights how migrant tribes from South Sumatera establish coffee plantations in the National Park of Kerinci Sebelat in Merangin district. Third, it highlights the impact of deforestation due to encroachment, coffee plantations, and mining as well as the related ecological damage. Confronting these three issues requires considering stakeholders’ movements and views on the role of government, private companies, NGOs, and participation of local communities. This research finds the role of government, represented by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, as well as Forestry Agency Offices at the province and district levels, is important to the issue and regulation of sanctions for logging concession holders and migrant tribes from South Sumatera. Therefore, in order to implement sustainable forest management (SFM), the government invites logging concession holder and participation of local community on developing forest resource by planting trees which the scheme of social forestry and village forest. This livelihood strategy is an alternative to previous strategies that focused on paddy rice cultivation and coffee agroforestry. This livelihood change is especially notable for migrant tribes and members from local community. In contrast, the role of NGOs is very important in launching a critique concerning the impact of ecological damage, including soil erosion, flood and water contamination, which results from forest encroaching and mining.

The Tapanuli orangutan: Status, threats, and steps for improved conservation

The Tapanuli orangutan: Status, threats, and steps for improved conservation

Effective moratoria on land acquisitions reduce tropical deforestation: evidence from Indonesia

The tropics have suffered substantial forest loss, and elevated deforestation rates have been closely linked to large-scale land acquisitions (LSLA). Having a timely and accurate understanding of global LSLA pattern will be critically important for concluding related policies and actions. Here, we investigate global LSLA networks and find that land acquisitions are characterized by dominant acquisition flows from the developing to the developed world (75.4%), and less of these flows are retained within the developing world (22.8%) or the developed world (1.8%). Policy-driven moratoria on existing LSLA are a key mechanism used to minimize global forest loss and recently employed in Indonesia, however their effectiveness remains unclear given a lack of quantitative synthesis. Based on a spatially-explicit temporal analysis of forest loss from 2001–2017, we find that, as a whole of Indonesia, the increased forest loss rate of 0.091 Mha yr−1 (2001–2011) slowed down to 0.001 Mha yr−1 (2012–2017) after moratoria established in 2011. Meanwhile, based on a comparison of annual forest loss in logging, timber, and oil palm concessions, we find that land concessions outside the moratorium experienced 35%–396% higher rates of forest loss than in comparable land concessions within the moratorium. Decreased forest loss from full implementation of moratoria on all land concessions could mitigate a maximum aboveground biomass carbon emission of 112 888 ± 24 766 Mg C yr−1, which is a nearly 41.89% reduction relative to the counterfactual scenario of no moratorium. These findings lend support for international cooperation and collective action to put into practice effective land moratoria to reverse decade-long trajectories of tropical forest loss.

The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) density in a logging concession of Hulu Belantikan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia

Abstract. Sapari I, Perwitasari-Farajallah D, Utami Atmoko SS. 2019. The Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus wurmbii) density in a logging concession of Hulu Belantikan, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 20: 878-883. The Bornean orangutan is currently categorized as a critically endangered species. It is found in natural forests in Borneo, where about 78% of the total population is found outside protected areas, of which 29% is in logging concessions. This study aimed to analyze the density of the orangutan population and the abundance of fruiting plants in a logging concession and Protection Forest (Hutan Lindung) in the Hulu Belantikan forests in Lamandau District, Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. Research and data collection was conducted between December 2013 to October 2014. Orangutan population density was calculated using line transect methodology based on nest counts. Abundance of fruit plants was calculated using the fruit trail method. The highest orangutan density, 4.8 individuals/km2, was found in Protection Forest; and the lowest density, 0.4 individuals/km2, was in [Sopanan] the 2013 logging block. Observations in the logging area indicated that selective logging could alter the structure and gap of the canopy and reduce the proportion of large trees. Changes in forest structure resulted in negative effects on the density of the orangutan population. The remaining degraded forests can still be a valuable resource for the orangutan. As long as the disturbance is not intensive, orangutans will retain access to the less disturbed forest nearby and to forests that are still connected to primary forests. The existence of Protection Forest and old logged-over forests around logging blocks are very important for conservation, providing refugia for orangutans and other species when logging occurs.

Réviser les tarifs de cubage pour prendre en compte l’évolution de la ressource au Cameroun

La connaissance du volume exploitable est une information essentielle tant pour la gestion que pour le contrôle de l’exploitation forestière. En Afrique centrale, l’estimation des volumes repose essentiellement sur l’utilisation de tarifs de cubage à une entrée, spécifique à chaque essence, et prédisant le volume exploitable à partir du diamètre de l’arbre. Or, récemment, de nombreux acteurs de la gestion forestière au Cameroun rapportent une inadéquation entre les volumes commerciaux estimés avec les tarifs de cubage imposés par l’administration et les volumes estimés à partir des mesures de la longueur et du diamètre des billes exploitées. Afin de vérifier la justesse des tarifs de cubage imposés par l’administration camerounaise, nous avons réalisé un échantillonnage destructif pour 12 essences jouant un rôle crucial dans le commerce du bois au Cameroun, et développé de nouveaux tarifs de cubage, qui ont été comparés avec les tarifs imposés par l’administration camerounaise et 52 autres tarifs de cubage disponibles dans la littérature. Dans quatre concessions forestières du Cameroun, représentatives des différentes conditions écologiques prévalant dans ce pays, 732 arbres ont été abattus et leur volume a été mesuré par la méthode des billons successifs. Des tarifs de cubage à une entrée, fonction uniquement du diamètre de référence, ont ensuite été ajustés par la méthode des moindres carrés généralisés. Notre étude confirme l’existence de biais entre les volumes mesurés et les volumes estimés en utilisant les tarifs de cubage imposés par l’administration camerounaise. En conséquence, de nouveaux tarifs de cubage et un abaque de correction sont proposés. Enfin, la majorité des tarifs de cubage testés présentaient un biais similaire qui résulte vraisemblablement d’une évolution de la ressource et des pratiques d’exploitation.

Impacts of certification, uncertified concessions, and protected areas on forest loss in Cameroon, 2000 to 2013

Deforestation and forest fragmentation are leading drivers of biodiversity loss. Protected areas have been the leading conservation policy response, yet their scale and scope remain inadequate to meet biodiversity conservation targets. Managed forest concessions increasingly have been recognized as a complement to protected areas in meeting conservation targets. Similarly, programs for voluntary third-party certification of concession management aim to create incentives for logging companies to manage forests more sustainably. Rigorous evidence on the impacts from large-scale certification programs is thereby critical, yet detailed field observations are limited, temporally and spatially. Remotely-sensed data, in contrast, can provide repeated observations over time and at a fine spatial scale, albeit with less detail. Using the Global Forest Change dataset, we examine annual forest loss in Cameroon during 2000–2013 to assess the impact of Forest Stewardship Council certification, as well as uncertified logging concessions and national parks. We use panel regressions that control for the effects of unobserved factors that vary across space or time. We find low forest loss inside the boundaries of each management intervention, with <1% lost over the study period. Yet those low levels of loss appear to be influenced more by a site's proximity to drivers of deforestation, such as distances to population centers or roads, than by national parks, uncertified concessions, or certification. The exception is that if a site faces high deforestation pressure, uncertified logging concessions appear to reduce forest loss. This may reflect private companies' incentives to protect rights to forest use. Such an influence of private logging companies could provide a foundation for future impacts from certification upon rates of forest loss, at least within areas that are facing elevated deforestation pressures.

Impacts of selective logging management on butterflies in the Amazon

Selective logging for timber production affects vast areas across the tropics, yet we lack detailed understanding of the impacts of logging intensity on biodiversity. These impacts can be studied at two levels: the impacts of logging intensity on overall diversity and community composition; and how logging intensity affects individual species' abundance-logging yield relationships. The latter underpins whether land-sharing logging (i.e. low intensity throughout) or land-sparing logging (i.e. high intensity with retention of some primary forest) is the optimal strategy. We examine both levels to determine the impacts of local-scale logging intensity on butterflies in Rondônia, Brazil, the global epicenter of butterfly alpha-diversity. Overall butterfly abundance was highest at intermediate logging intensity, whereas species richness increased after logging but was not affected by logging intensity, and that species composition increasingly changed from the primary community composition at higher logging intensities. Using individual species' abundance-yield curves, we then simulated species responses to a suite of logging strategies, ranging from total sharing to total sparing. Logging simulations predicted that more butterfly species would benefit from low-intensity land-sharing logging, having higher abundances than under land-sharing scenarios. However, some butterfly clades benefited disproportionally from the retention of primary forest within land-sparing logging concessions. Butterflies overall may benefit from intermediate logging strategies that promote a combination of low and high intensity logged areas, with some protected primary forest.

Remote assessment of extracted volumes and greenhouse gases from tropical timber harvest

Timber harvest from tropical regions generates seven billion dollars annually in exports and is estimated to occur across 20% of the area of remaining tropical forests. This timber harvesting is estimated to account for more than one in eight of all greenhouse gas emissions from tropical forests. Yet there is currently no means to independently estimate extracted volumes and associated greenhouse gas emissions.In this study, we built upon an earlier paper that used an automated algorithm applied to LiDAR to accurately identify area of timber harvest impact in the categories of roads/decks, skid trails and gaps. This algorithm was applied to 2014 harvest areas in four concessions in Kalimantan, Indonesia. In two of these concessions, total harvested timber volumes and greenhouse gas emissions were measured and calculated in the field using data from 188 harvested and extracted trees.In order to relate remote sensing data with the estimated extracted volumes, we calculated factors that linked extracted timber volumes with greenhouse gas emissions, and applied three different regression equations. The parameters of the most accurate equation were the areas of roads, skid trails and gaps, explaining 87% of the variation in the data. For situations where rivers are used in place of roads for extracting timber and for instances of non-mechanized, often illegal logging, a second equation was created in which only skid trail and gap attribute data were used, and in this equation 86% of the variation was accounted. The final equation, intended for use in scenarios where LiDAR data are not available but moderate resolution imagery could be used, associated length of roads only with extracted volumes. In this case, 78% of the variation was explained.Application of the first equation permitted estimation of extracted volumes and associated greenhouse gas emissions from two additional logging concessions. We discuss the application of these equations to areas that have been identified as illegal logging concessions, and propose that these may be applied to larger regions across the country.These equations offer a way to estimate volumes of timber extraction when no ground data is available, and to calculate greenhouse gas emissions associated with extracted volumes, providing a simple methodology useful across forested tropical countries.

Topographic restrictions on land-use practices: Consequences of different pixel sizes and data sources for natural forest management policies in the tropics

Much of the tropical forest that will escape conversion is on steep slopes. Land uses in steep areas disproportionately affect environmental processes, especially hydrology (e.g., peak flows, suspended sediment loads). We use data from East Kalimantan, Indonesia, to demonstrate why slope measurements used for planning and regulatory purposes should be based on digital elevation models (DEMs) constructed with small pixel data and ground-based or canopy-penetrating remote sensing, and not just mean slopes calculated for large areas with passive remote sensing. For five logging concessions, the proportion of the forest on slopes >40% (21.8°) ranged 35–85% with crown penetrating airborne lidar pixels of 1 m, but only 13–69% when pixel size was increased to 30 m. With passive satellite-based remotely sensed 30 m pixels, estimates of land on slopes >40% were even lower (11–56%). Policies based on DEMs with underestimated slopes contribute to the misuses of steep areas and the consequent deleterious in-forest and downstream impacts. The energy costs of forest operations increase with slope, which decreases the financial costs of compliance with environmentally motivated policies for the protection of steep terrain.

Automated method for measuring the extent of selective logging damage with airborne LiDAR data

Selective logging has an impact on the global carbon cycle, as well as on the forest micro-climate, and longer-term changes in erosion, soil and nutrient cycling, and fire susceptibility. Our ability to quantify these impacts is dependent on methods and tools that accurately identify the extent and features of logging activity. LiDAR-based measurements of these features offers significant promise. Here, we present a set of algorithms for automated detection and mapping of critical features associated with logging – roads/decks, skid trails, and gaps – using commercial airborne LiDAR data as input. The automated algorithm was applied to commercial LiDAR data collected over two logging concessions in Kalimantan, Indonesia in 2014. The algorithm results were compared to measurements of the logging features collected in the field soon after logging was complete. The automated algorithm-mapped road/deck and skid trail features match closely with features measured in the field, with agreement levels ranging from 69% to 99% when adjusting for GPS location error. The algorithm performed most poorly with gaps, which, by their nature, are variable due to the unpredictable impact of tree fall versus the linear and regular features directly created by mechanical means. Overall, the automated algorithm performs well and offers significant promise as a generalizable tool useful to efficiently and accurately capture the effects of selective logging, including the potential to distinguish reduced impact logging from conventional logging.

Do responsibly managed logging concessions adequately protect jaguars and other large and medium-sized mammals? Two case studies from Guatemala and Peru

Large areas of tropical forest have been designated for timber production but logging practices vary widely. Reduced-impact logging is considered best practice and third-party certification aims to ensure that strict standards are met. This includes minimizing the number of roads constructed, avoiding sensitive areas and strictly regulating hunting. Large scale camera trap grids were utilized in Guatemala and Peru to evaluate the impact of reduced-impact logging in certified concessions upon the large and medium-sized mammal fauna with special emphasis on jaguars (Panthera onca). Spatial capture-recapture models showed that jaguar density in Peru (4.54 ± 0.83 ind. 100 km−2) was significantly higher than in Guatemala (1.52 ± 0.34 ind. 100 km−2) but in both regions, densities were comparable to protected areas. Camera traps detected 22 species of large and medium sized mammals in Guatemala and 27 in Peru and a multi-species occupancy model revealed that logging had no negative impact on any of the species studied and actually had an initial positive impact on several herbivore species. We found no avoidance of logging roads; in fact, many species, especially carnivores, frequently used logging roads as movement corridors. Our results indicate that well-managed logging concessions can maintain important populations of large and medium-sized mammals including large herbivores and large carnivores as long as hunting is controlled and timber volumes extracted are low. Responsible forest management would therefore be an ideal activity in the buffer zones and multiple use zones of protected areas creating much less impact and conflict than alternatives such as agriculture or cattle ranching while still providing economic opportunities. Logging concessions can also play an important role in maintaining landscape connectivity between protected areas.

Les concessions d’exploitation forestière menacent-elles les tourbières en République démocratique du Congo ?

Dans une lettre cosignée par 30 chercheurs et publiquement adressée au ministère norvégien du Climat et de l’Environnement, le Pr Simon Lewis (University of Leeds) et ses collègues dénoncent l’impact potentiellement négatif de l’exploitation forestière sur les vastes marécages de la cuvette congolaise, abritant en partie des tourbières. Cette lettre demande à la Norvège de refuser le financement du programme de gestion durable des forêts de République démocratique du Congo (RDC) soumis en 2017 par l’Agence française de développement (AFD). Ce programme vise à relancer l’activité forestière légale, en net déclin dans le pays, et à soutenir une meilleure gestion des ressources forestières en appuyant les administrations forestières nationales et provinciales et en améliorant la gouvernance. En RDC comme en République du Congo, la loi autorise l’inclusion de ces zones marécageuses dans les concessions attribuées aux compagnies forestières. Si cela est très rare en République du Congo, en RDC environ 4,5 millions d’hectares, soit 26 % des zones marécageuses du pays, sont entièrement ou partiellement couverts par une trentaine de concessions. Le reproche adressé en particulier à l’AFD est de ne pas avoir considéré les dégâts potentiels que l’exploitation des forêts dans ces concessions pourrait provoquer sur les tourbières. Il est justifié par une référence explicite aux dégâts causés par ce type d’exploitation sur les tourbières d’Indonésie.En tant que scientifiques nous reconnaissons la qualité du travail du Pr Lewis et de ses collègues et nous sommes conscients de la nécessité de protéger les tourbières d’Afrique centrale. En revanche, nous discutons, sur le fond et sur la forme, la méthode utilisée par ces cher- cheurs pour y parvenir... (suite dans le fichier pdf en version française)

A darker shade of white: expat self-making in a Congolese rainforest enclave

AbstractThis article offers a new perspective on contemporary ‘whiteness’ in Africa by looking at the ambiguous ways in which it affects everyday life in and around the labour compounds of a multinational timber firm in the Congolese rainforest. As a foreign investment enclave, the logging concession is home to a small isolated community of European expatriate men whose ‘white’ faces evoke a set of ambivalent memories of colonial exploitation in the area. Through a carefully contextualized understanding of how these contemporary expats are perceived in the labour compounds and how they construct their own racialized male selves, this article pushes the discussion on whiteness in Africa beyond the conventional analysis of (post-)settler identities and whites of African nationalities. It argues that, as a permanent fixture in the present neoliberal moment but also as an uncanny repetition of a colonial past, the European loggers construct and embody very specific ‘expat’ masculinities whose internalized dynamics of self-exoticization make them ‘African’ in their own right. Mobilizing the problematic trope of ‘darkness’, both in expat self-making practices and in popular narratives about their presence, this article illustrates how whiteness in Africa comes in many shades.